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WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE 
Capitol Update
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November 6, 2015
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| Contents Include:
1. Regular Legislative Session in Recess until January
2. WCC Supports "Safe Harbor" for Child Sex Trafficking Victims
3. Assembly Passes Photo ID for FoodShare Recipients
4. Upcoming Hearings of Interest
5. New Bills of Interest
6. Websites of Interest
Regular Legislative Session in Recess until January
The Assembly stands adjourned for the remainder of 2015 and the Senate is expected to do so by the end of today. Barring a special session, both houses will reconvene in January. Committee hearings will, however, continue.
WCC Supports "Safe Harbor" for Child Sex Trafficking Victims
At an October 28 public hearing before the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, the WCC registered in support of Assembly Bill 267 (Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse), which would prohibit the prosecution of a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. The bill would also require the sheriff or police department to refer to an agency, and the agency to investigate, a case of child abuse in which a person who is not a caregiver of the child is suspected of permitting, allowing, or encouraging the child to engage in prostitution. The Committee took no further action on the bill.
Assembly Passes Photo ID for FoodShare Recipients
On a vote of 57-40, the Assembly on November 3 passed Assembly Bill 222, which would require the Department of Health Services to prepare and submit an implementation plan for approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service in order to require a photograph on a FoodShare recipient's electronic benefit transfer card. The WCC registered against the bill because of concerns that it could make it more difficult for eligible persons to obtain a FoodShare card in a timely manner, since they might not have the transportation or time during working hours to have their picture taken at the designated government office. The bill could also make it more difficult for a family member, friend, or neighbor to shop for the card holder. Finally, the WCC is concerned that the poor are being subjected to greater scrutiny than more affluent recipients of government assistance. The bill is now available for a public hearing in the Senate.
Upcoming Hearings of Interest
(N.B. Only bills of interest are flagged. In most cases, committees will be considering other bills as well.)
Assembly Public Benefits Reform, 1 pm, Tue, Nov, 10, 225-NW
AB-414 Medical Assistance Purchase Plan (Jacque, Andre (R)) Eligibility for and premiums under the Medical Assistance purchase plan and disregarding assets in an independence account and retirement benefits for purposes of determining eligibility and cost-sharing requirements under a number of Medical Assistance and long-term care programs.
New Bills of Interest
SB-302 Cemetery Authorities (LeMahieu, Devin (R)) Powers and duties of cemetery authorities; inheritance of cemetery lots in which human remains are buried; exemption of cemeteries from certain requirements concerning excavation; the powers and duties of the Cemetery Board, the Department of Safety and Professional Services, and the Department of Financial institutions; requiring the exercise of rule-making authority; and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Elections and Local Government
SB-309 Out-of-home Care (Petrowski, Jerry (R)) Use of the reasonable and prudent parent standard for making decisions concerning the participation of a child placed in out-of-home care in age or developmentally appropriate activities, permanency planning for a child 14 years of age or over, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Health and Human Services
SB-311 Dependent Care Tax Credit (Lassa, Julie (D)) Creating a nonrefundable individual income tax credit based on the federal tax credit for certain expenses for household and dependent care services. Referred to Senate Revenue, Financial Institutions and Rural Issues
SB-317 Child Support Income Withholding (Petrowski, Jerry (R)) Child support income withholding orders, deferred prosecution agreements, determining the amount of a home visitation program grant, modifications to the references to Milwaukee County by population, modifications to certain appropriations, and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety
SB-323 Victims Accompanied by Advocates (Cowles, Robert (R)) Granting victims of certain crimes the right to be accompanied by a victim advocate. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety
SB-324 Child Neglect (Cowles, Robert (R)) Neglect of a child and providing criminal penalties. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety SB-325 Repeated Child Physical Abuse (Cowles, Robert (R)) Repeated acts of physical abuse of the same child and providing a criminal penalty. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety SB-326 Child Abuse or Neglect Case Referral (Cowles, Robert (R)) Referral of cases of suspected or threatened child abuse or neglect to the sheriff or police department, coordination of the investigation of those cases, and referral of those cases to the district attorney for criminal prosecution. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety SB-330 Homemade Baked Goods (Harsdorf, Sheila (R)) The sale of homemade baked goods and homemade canned goods. Referred to Senate Agriculture, Small Business, and Tourism SB-340 Recycling Grants (Cowles, Robert (R)) Recycling grants for local governments and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Natural Resources and Energy SB-351 Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act (Risser, Fred (D)) The Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act. Referred to Senate Judiciary and Public Safety SB-352 Paid Sick Leave (Harris Dodd, Nikiya (D)) Paid sick leave. Referred to Senate Labor and Government Reform SB-353 Pupil Record Disclosure (Darling, Alberta (R)) Disclosure of pupil records that are pertinent to addressing a pupil's educational needs to the Department of Children and Families, a county department of human services or social services, or a tribal organization that is legally responsible for the care and protection of the pupil. Referred to Senate Health and Human Services SB-356 Transform Milwaukee Funding (Harris Dodd, Nikiya (D)) Providing additional funding for the Transform Milwaukee Jobs program and the Transitional Jobs program and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Health and Human Services SB-369 Immigration Status Inquiries (Nass, Stephen (R)) Prohibiting local ordinances, resolutions, and policies that prohibit immigration status inquiries and reports to, and cooperation with, other units of government about the presence of illegal aliens, authorizing certain elective officeholders to commence an enforcement action, and providing a reduction in shared revenue payments. Referred to Senate Labor and Government Reform AB-450 Immigration Status Inquiries (Spiros, John (R)) Prohibiting local ordinances, resolutions, and policies that prohibit immigration status inquiries and reports to, and cooperation with, other units of government about the presence of illegal aliens, authorizing certain elective officeholders to commence an enforcement action, and providing a reduction in shared revenue payments. Referred to Assembly Urban and Local Affairs
AB-461 Ending Parental Choice Program (Pope, Sondy (D)) Ending the statewide parental choice program. Referred to Assembly Education AB-462 Medicaid Expansion (Pope, Sondy (D)) Medicaid expansion, eligibility for BadgerCare Plus and BadgerCare Plus Core, and ending the statewide parental choice program. Referred to Assembly State Affairs and Government Operations AB-469 Use of Changing Rooms (Kremer, Jesse (R)) Use of changing rooms by pupils. Referred to Senate Education AB-473 Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act (Jacque, Andre (R)) The Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act. Referred to Assembly Family Law AB-474 Paid Sick Leave (Mason, Cory (D)) Paid sick leave. Referred to Assembly Jobs and the Economy
AB-478 Pupil Records Disclosure (Ballweg, Joan (R)) Disclosure of pupil records that are pertinent to addressing a pupil's educational needs to the Department of Children and Families, a county department of human services or social services, or a tribal organization that is legally responsible for the care and protection of the pupil. Referred to Assembly Education AB-482 Counting Low-Income Pupils (Pope, Sondy (D)) Counting low-income pupils for state school aid purposes; calculating the amount to be appropriated for state general school aid; school aid factors; special adjustment aids; hold harmless aid; per pupil aid; school district revenue limits; the first dollar and school levy property tax credits; and making an appropriation. Referred to Assembly Education
AB-484 Transform Milwaukee Funding (Riemer, Daniel (D)) Providing additional funding for the Transform Milwaukee Jobs program and the Transitional Jobs program and making an appropriation. Referred to Joint Finance |
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Capitol Update is a periodic e-mail on legislative issues from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.
Wisconsin Catholic Conference
131 W. Wilson St., Suite 1105
Madison, WI 53703
608/257-0004
www.wisconsincatholic.org
[email protected]
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